Never Needed Me, Never Will
by shadowymind
Summary: I risked it all to save him. In the end, somebody got to him before me. Now, I'm forced to see it all alone.
1. Tsubaki

**A/N: Hey everyone. I know it's been a really, REALLY long time since I've updated my other stories. Well, the following I'm about to tell you is really important:**

**If you're one of the devoted readers to my stories, I'm truly sorry inform you that I will discontinue the updates to all that I have written so far. This is because my writing style has changed quite a lot and I realized that the plots to my previous stories were unorganized and didn't seem to be going anywhere. HOWEVER, I'll be starting anew in my fanfic writing "career" with this story. In the future, depending on how things go, I might continue my other stories, but I might need to redo a chapter or two.**

**Again, I greatly apologize for all of this and I hope you enjoy my future stories! I also thank you all who have been with me up to this very point! Hugs and kisses to all!! :]**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto's characters or the storyline.**

"_They told me he would be executed."_

Wheels rattled rapidly down the cold, white hallway.

"_I told them I would do the cruel deed myself."_

Pale faces stared down at the grisly sight the rocketed passed them.

"_They told me I was foolishly walking into my own death."_

Orders were being screamed out and another pair of wheels started following closely behind.

"_I told them he was worth dying for."_

Old friends were nearby, injured and weeping.

"_After two years of searching nothing's changed. They're still always right, and I'm still stubborn."_

This last thought made Sakura's heart ache, which in turn sent a new fountain of blood spewing from her gaping mouth. Angry and bitter, Sakura reached up to rid herself of this crimson hindrance, yet her attempts were in vain. The amount of blood loss she had suffered and the agony from the injuries were just too much for her to perform even the simple task of wiping the blood away.

Shizune quickly glanced down at the distressed kunoichi, a look of pity setting itself deep into her eyes. This look of pity was instantly replaced to one of panic when she saw that Sakura's emerald eyes seemed cloudier and cloudier with each passing second.

"We need the best medic-nin available! NOW!" Shizune screamed, her voice urgent, yet quivering with fear for her fellow apprentice was mere minutes away from leaving everything behind.

Proving that Shizune's fear was indeed correct, Sakura amusedly thought that everything appeared to move slower and slower, until it was almost a complete standstill. Black curtains entered from either sides of her peripherals and gradually started making their way towards the center. Every piece of audio that was present in the disorderly hospital was turned down by the volume knob in Sakura's mind. Well, everything except the other set of wheels which were making their way down the opposite end of the hall.

Suddenly, a vivid image formed in Sakura's subconscious. Actually, it was more of a memory than anything. It was of a man she only knew too well. His face displayed anger, the main emotion he ever seemed to show. Behind him stood a woman, who looked like she was being protected by this man. Strangely enough, she stared at him with a look of surprise and confusion as though she had never seen him act this way. And in her arms, she held a child, or better yet, an infant who played with his raven locks as he lay snuggled up and fast asleep against his mother.

Chuckling to her, almost in disbelief that she had recalled this scene, Sakura thought resentfully, _"Hehe… Tsubaki, huh?"_

**A/N: Hey sorry this chapter was so short, but this was just sort of an opening sequence of what's soon to come. I promise that the following chapters will be waaaaay longer! I hope you enjoyed! Reviews are appreciated very much! **


	2. Alone

**A/N: Hello everybody! I really hope you liked my 1****st**** chapter even though it wasn't much. ^^ However, as promised, this chapter's going to be significantly longer. (This goes for the rest of chapters as well) Anyways, on with the story and I once again, I thank you all who support me in my writing!!**

**Disclaimer: I have never owned Naruto and I never will.**

The mighty sun awoke, rising from the horizon. It set light to everything in its path, including the village of Konoha. It gradually warmed the village, balancing out the cool breeze that was whipping through the streets. Carried by this wind were the heaps of gossip that were being proclaimed throughout Konoha on this busy morning.

"Otou-san, didn't you hear?!" a young man asked his father excitedly.

The older man scrunched his eyes with confusion at his son. He scratched his head, clearly perplexed by the simple question, and he in turn asked, "Hear what?"

"Everybody's talking about it!!" exclaimed the son, gesturing towards the mob of people that congregated around their tiny food stand.

"Talking about what?!!" the exasperated man asked, impatient and curious.

The young man's excited face unexpectedly turned solemn as he answered, "Uchiha Sasuke's back."

For a moment, the older man seemed unsure of whom his son was talking about, but then his eyes widened in realization and his mouth hung agape.

Finally he spoke, "Uchiha Sasuke… that traitor?! When did this happen?! Who brought him back?!"

The younger man held up his hands, as if protecting himself from the succession of questions his father bombarded him with. "I-I'm not exactly sure if this information is correct, but I know that he arrived here last night. Everybody's been saying he's in pretty bad shape and had to be operated on all night."

"Hmph! Serves him right!" the older man cried out victoriously as if he were the one who had defeated the Uchiha. After receiving a collection of stares, ranging from those of approval to ones of disgust, he cleared his throat asked in a lowered tone, "Who do I have to thank for this well-deserved beating?"

"Haruno Sakura, but," the son's eyes grew grave, "she, along with Uchiha Sasuke, was badly injured as well, up to the point where she actually died for a good few minutes. They managed to bring her back, but I think heard someone say that there's something wrong with her heart now."

The older man nodded knowingly saying, "I see. After two years of searching for him, this is what she gets. Poor girl."

A woman nearby, whose voice had carried out countless rumors in the past, both false and true, immediately intervened at this statement. "Poor girl?!! She was stupid in my opinion! How did she ever think she could stand a chance against Uchiha Sasuke?! She's a complete baka!! At this point, she needs more mental help than pity!!"

"She was only trying to do what's right!!" the young man argued back, taking the woman aback.

Flustered, the woman angrily replied, "Who are you kidding?! She did all of this for herself! It's no secret that she's 'madly in love' with him!! She's a selfish little-"

"Hey!!!" the older man interrupted. "As a vendor, I won't tolerate any amount of disrespect towards a loyal kunoichi in my establishment!"

"Hmph! It's true and you know it!!" the woman retorted back as she whipped out her fan, ironically emphasizing her crude nature.

"Even if it _were_ true," another woman chimed in, "she doesn't have a chance of getting him. I was there last night, and I saw a woman and child by his side!"

With that last statement, the crowd was sent into a frenzy of wild conversation. This mostly consisted of the female population for the mention of a 'woman and child' having any relation to Sasuke simply drove them mad.

"Enough!!!" The vendor yelled, his thunderous voice bouncing off of the nearby buildings. This single word was enough to silence the unruly bunch and all eyes were soon focused on him, his son included.

Seeing this as golden opportunity, he continued, "Stop this nonsense! Instead sitting here tarnishing reputations like a bunch of fools, why don't all of you learn to get lives and do something productive! I won't have this beautiful morning ruined with such useless gossip!"

A very low hum of conversation followed this lecture. Secret glares and more nasty rumors were directed towards the vendor who had ruined all the fun. Regardless, everyone complied and dispersed, leaving the vendor and his son to enjoy the peaceful morning.

Unfortunately, to a broken pink-haired kunoichi, lying in a hospital bed with numerous tubes and bandages, this morning seemed neither beautiful nor peaceful. With every painful breath she uttered and with each irritating _'beep'_ that sounded with each heartbeat, each minute seemed to drag on more and more. With each minute that didn't pass by as quickly as the last, Sakura grew increasingly anxious. With each waking moment she had to spend all alone, questions piled up one by one.

"_How am I still alive? What about him? Is he dead? Did he survive? Who was that woman? Tsubaki was her name, yes? Was that child theirs? Did I really lose him? Did I ever have him?"_

Unshed tears welled up beneath her eyelids and found their way to the surface, each drop licking her burning cheeks. Sakura's quick-paced breathing sent wave of pain throughout her body, encouraging her to cease her useless mourning.

"Wow, I'm so pathetic!! All of these unreasonable questions! Who am I kidding?" Sakura scolded herself, drying her tears with the sleeve of her hospital gown. "This is why I hate being alone."

Being alone, it the horrid thing that she'd have to get used to from this point forward. In the past, she carelessly tossed around the phrase. She thought she knew what it meant, but back then, there was a chance that her only love could somehow return to her someday. After these series of events, the true feeling of loneliness had finally set in. Someone else was with him now and had a child with him. This was all for Sakura to watch all alone in the background.

**A/N: Hey everyone! I hope that chapter was a little more satisfying than the last! Also, all of the things that are going on/will go on will all tie in together in the end! Reviews are greatly appreciated! I want to see how I can improve and the things I need to keep!**


	3. Heart

**A/N: Hello, hello again! I hope you're enjoying this story as much fun as I'm having typing it! Ever since I updated my last chapter, my mind's been overflowing with more and more ideas, so here I am again with another chapter. Just to let you know, I'll try to keep my updates regular, something like 2 or 3 chapters a week, more or less. Come what may, ****nothing will stop me from writing****. So once again, I hope you enjoy, because I'm pretty much putting my heart and soul into this story.**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Masashi Kishimoto. Therefore, I don't own any part of Naruto.**

Shizune wearily trudged through the hospital halls, her footsteps keeping a steady rhythm against the smooth tile. The halls were vacant, making it seem like she was the only soul for miles around. This directly contrasted the flood of panicked people that crowded the halls during the previous night's events, which was one of the main reasons why she was so exhausted. Seriously, keeping a whole mob of hysteria-filled people calm and orderly wasn't the easiest job in the world. In addition to that, she had to perform two operations of patients who were on the brink of death, and one of them gave her a huge scare and actually died for a short period of time. This might seem like a big nightmare, but sadly, this wasn't the end to poor Shizune's problems. After the operations and making sure that both patients were stable, Shizune had paperwork to fill out and she had to research both of her patients' medical histories to be sure that no further complications would occur during their treatment.

She performed these tasks right up until the sun rose. As you may or may not have guessed, at this moment, Shizune was running on no sleep whatsoever, a feeling that may be familiar to some of you. Thankfully, after having a word with Kakashi, who was now Hokage, she would be free to stay at home for the whole day to replenish her energy and her chakra. That was one thing Shizune was more than willing to do.

Since she wasn't running errands or in the line of duty, Shizune had time to think and reminisce. Because of the great amount of stress she just endured, she couldn't help but think negative thoughts. This was one of those rare moments where Shizune would be caught pitying herself.

"They've placed a heavier burden on me ever since Tsunade-sama passed away," Shizune heavily sighed to herself, "and it's been getting heavier and heavier with each passing day."

She hung her head sadly, recalling the days when she was just a mere assistant to one of the greatest kunoichi who ever lived and nothing more. Shizune's eyes suddenly widened a look of horror clearly present in each dark orb. It was as if she had caught herself in the midst of an evil deed. She shook her head to rid of herself of such negative thoughts.

"What am I saying?" Shizune asked, startled at her own selfishness. "Here I am feeling sorry for myself when in reality, I should be checking up on Sakura before I go home!"

She immediately dashed towards the room at the sudden realization.

"_I've also got to tell her about her… condition,"_ Shizune though morosely, reaching for the door knob.

Shizune slowly pushed the door open, producing a loud groan from the aged wood. As she stepped carefully and quietly through the doorframe, she was immediately horrified at the sight and sounds before her.

Sakura sat upright at the foot of the hospital bed. Her pale arms hugged her knees to her chest and her pink locks hid her face from view as her head rested on her kneecaps. This made it hard for Shizune to tell whether or not she was breathing. Whether or not she was breathing was of great importance for the heart monitor showed no pulse and voiced a continuous beeping sound.

"_Oh no! Not again! I thought she was stable!"_ Shizune thought, fearing for the worst.

Taking immediate action, she was at Sakura's side in an instant.

"Sakura!!" she yelled, grabbing hold of Sakura's shoulders, ready to pull her down for any form of operation.

Before she could do so, Sakura's pink head shot up, her puffy, emerald eyes meeting Shizune's surprised stare.

"Shizune-san?" was Sakura's confused reply.

Releasing her grip on Sakura's shoulders, a relieved Shizune asked, "Sakura, are you alright? I thought we had lost you again!"

Seeing Shizune's worry sketched across her face, Sakura offered a gentle smile, to calm her friend and to mask her current emotional distress.

"I'm fine, Shizune-san. Really I am. What made you think that I wasn't?" questioned Sakura, inner laughter becoming visible in her eyes due to the confusion.

"The heart monitor did," Shizune answered, pointing towards the heart monitor that was still indicating death.

Sakura answered, "Oh that? Well, the beeping wasn't helping me think much, so I disconnected the wire from my body. I'm really sorry I worried you."

Throughout this whole explanation, Sakura was smiling sheepishly, because as a skilled medic-nin herself, she knew better than basically screaming out her death to the whole world.

With a deep breath and a nod, Shizune sat down in a nearby chair to relax her worn-out muscles. An immense silence enveloped the closed room. Meanwhile, Shizune's gaze shifted nervously from her folded hands to Sakura, waiting for the right moment to speak, but Sakura beat her to it.

"Shizune-san," Sakura unexpectedly spoke, surprising her caretaker. "What did you mean when you said 'I thought we had lost you _again'?_"

She put emphasis on the final word, so Shizune knew that there wasn't a more perfect time to inform her of her current situation.

"You see, Sakura," Shizune started, "while we were healing you last night, you just suddenly sort of… died in the middle of the whole process. We were able to bring you back after we got your heart restarted, but we decided to look further into the whole problem. Since it was mostly internal bleeding, we started with the heart. Well, I don't know how to say this, but we found…"

"Found what?" Sakura asked, her voice having slight tremors as she spoke.

"We found that there were lacerations around your heart," continued Shizune, causing Sakura's already pale face to turn a ghostly white. "They cut deeply into the tissue, and we managed to heal most of them."

"What about the others? The lacerations, I mean," questioned Sakura, who was now facing the window.

"For some reason, we weren't able to heal them," Shizune said gravely, remorse dripping off of every word. "I don't know what caused this, but it was most likely from a jutsu since there weren't any open wounds on the surface that could've possible lead to this kind of injury. Also, the amount of cuts was too great and too well-aimed for even the best swordsman to make. Whatever it was, we're researching it to find out a way to heal you, and we're not allowing any visitors either for the time being. More stress for you could be caused, and the outcome could be deadly."

Her voice unusually calm and steady, Sakura stated sadly, "It _was_ a jutsu. I don't remember much, but I remembered a huge white light coming towards me. Afterwards, it felt like my chest exploded."

"Then, at this point, we can only assume that it was one of Sasuke Uchiha's lightning-type jutsus," Shizune concluded.

Each of her words slowly killed Sakura inside, but what did she expect? He was a cold-hearted avenger after all. He wouldn't go easy on anybody who threatened him, especially not her since her full intent was to kill him.

"_Wait a second. I was supposed to kill him,"_ Sakura thought, seeing through the fault in the whole situation.

"Shizune-san!" Sakura called to the woman who already had her hand on the door knob.

"Yes?" said Shizune. Said woman stayed in that position for she was more than ready to bolt home.

"Every single village wanted him dead, and we devoted so much of our time to search for him. That's why I ask you now, why did you take the trouble of bringing him back to the village and healing him? I was so close to killing him, too! I just don't understand! Why?!!"

Sakura exclaimed all of this passionately, a huge variety of emotions present in her bright green eyes. Although, hesitance was mixed in with this strong speech, mainly because she was afraid of the answer she was going to receive. Well, she had every reason to be.

Shizune wheeled around, greatly affected by Sakura's overwhelming emotions. She walked over to the hospital bed and placed a comforting hand on Sakura's trembling ones. A small sad smile that would break anyone's heart formed on her lips.

A soft sorrow-filled voice then answered, "I honestly don't know Sakura. My only guess would be that nobody here truly wanted him dead because we're all afraid of the pain we'll have to endure afterwards, no matter how big or small."

Squeezing Sakura's hands gently, Shizune stood up and left the room. All the while, Sakura was trying to hold back a gasp for Shizune's words spoke the truth so loudly towards her.

All this time, it could've been so easy to get to him, to finally free him from the darkness like she said she would. It could've been so simple to rid him from their lives so all of the conflicts would stop. She was finally strong enough and she almost had her chance, but she just couldn't do it. This was all because her heart was weak and she loved him.

Sakura leaned over, her hands clutching her chest.

"It hurts. My heart, it hurts so much," she whispered, agony strewn in every corner of her face.

**A/N: Hey everyone! Once again, I hope this chapter was more satisfying than the last! I promise that there will be more surprises in the chapters to come. The other characters will also be seen in the following chapter, finally haha! **


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